Bear Hug
by BroomballKraken
Summary: Though not as frequent nowadays, Dedue still finds himself having vivid nightmares of his past. He would normally seek comfort in the solitude of taking care of the plants in the greenhouse, but this time it seemed that his comfort would come from a rather...loud and boisterous source instead.


-standing outside of Mr. Intsys's house with a megaphone- Let Dedue have supports outside of the Blue Lions cowards! Anyway, Dedue and Raphael would most certainly get along, being the soft yet strong boys that they are, so here I am writing for yet another rare pair lmao Thanks for reading!

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The greenhouse at Garreg Mach was rather impressive, stocked with a wide variety of foliage from all over Fódlan and beyond. It was also one of the few places where Dedue could escape from the disdainful stares from more than a few of the students and faculty, and it also proved to be an effective place to relax and feel at ease.

Dedue was here for the latter, unfortunately. His brow furrowed as he returned from refilling his watering can and he began giving the plants a much-needed watering. He was always mindful of which plants he was tending, as those from differing climates required different amounts of water. He tried to focus on that, and not the reason that he had so desperately retreated here as soon as he was able.

The nightmares stemming from his tragic past were less frequent now, thankfully, but the only drawback to that is when they did pay an unwelcome visit, Dedue was not prepared and often awoke feeling anxious and unnerved. He was lucky that Dimitri was training all day with the Professor, because Dedue was not sure that he could maintain his proper demeanor after being so jarred by his horrid dreams. Very few people frequented the greenhouse when they did not have to be there, so Dedue could enjoy the solitude that it offered.

However, this time the nightmares still sat in the forefront of his mind, and Dedue frowned. Why could he not chase away the darkness that followed him? Maybe the greenhouse was not the place to be today…

"Hey, Dedue! I finally found you!"

Dedue was snapped from his thoughts when a loud, boisterous voice hit his ears, that of which could only belong to one person. He finished watering the roses he was kneeling next to before standing up, quickly brushing the dirt off of his shirt. He turned to find Raphael beaming at him, like the personification of a ray of sunshine. Dedue tilted his head slightly, curious as to why the only one of their classmates who rivaled him in stature was here. Raphael was more likely to be found in the dining hall or the training grounds than in the greenhouse of all places.

"Hello, Raphael. Did you need something?" Dedue asked, watching with a neutral expression as Raphael crossed the room to stand before him.

"I was just wondering...Were you on cooking duty this morning?"

"Yes." Dedue said with a slight nod. The smile on Raphael's face somehow grew even brighter, and Dedue was glad that he was not an actual ray of sunshine because he probably would have been blinded by now.

"Wow, really? You made all of that delicious food? It. Was. AMAZING!" Raphael exclaimed, punching a fist into the air for unneeded emphasis. "I could have eaten, like, ten helpings of it...but they, uh, cut me off at five." Dedue blinked at him, unsure of how to respond to such raw enthusiasm.

"Where did you learn to cook like that? That meat was the most delicious and tender meat that I've ever eaten! And the spices were perfect!" Raphael continued, grinning a toothy grin as he waited with bated breath for Dedue to answer.

"Well...I always enjoyed cooking with my mother and sister when I was growing up. I learned all that I know from them." Dedue said, his jaw clenching when the events of his nightmares resurfaced as he spoke.

"Wow! I bet all three of you could really whip up a heck of a meal!"

"We could, but my family is...dead." Raphael's face fell at that, and Dedue wondered if he should have not said anything.

"Oh, hey, I'm sorry to hear that." Raphael said, a small smile returning to his face, and Dedue was grateful for that. "Is that why you looked so sad this morning? Were you thinking about them?" Dedue said nothing, and instead nodded slightly. He was shocked that Raphael had noticed his dour mood; he was more perceptive than Dedue had realized.

"Well, I lost my parents when I was younger too." Raphael said. Dedue was surprised at that; he never would have guessed with how happy and carefree Raphael seemed all the time. "I still have my little sis, but it was really hard for the both of us at the time. It took awhile to figure out a good way to deal with all the sad feelings. I didn't want my sister to see me sad all the time, so I preoccupied myself with training and eating and making her happy to keep my mind on other stuff." Dedue listened intently as the other man spoke. What he said did make a lot of sense. It was why he himself spent time in the greenhouse when he was sad, even if it did not seem like it was helping too much this particular instance.

"Hey! I've got an idea!" Raphael said suddenly, his ear-to-ear smile reappearing on his face, "When Ignatz or Marianne or my other friends are feeling sad, there's one thing that will always put a smile on their faces!"

"And that is?" Dedue asked, his curiosity piqued. Raphael chuckled and held his arms out in front of him, his fingers wiggling in Dedue's direction. Dedue just stared at him, confused.

"It's one of Raphael's famous bear hugs of course!" he said, "C'mon, try it!" Dedue blinked owlishly at Raphael, a rare stunned look crossing his face. Dedue was too used to people avoiding or flat out running away from him, so having a man almost as big as himself offering to hug him was a completely foreign concept to him.

"Um, you don't have to if you don't want to. I know some people are uncomfortable with random physical contact like this." Raphael said, his smile growing sheepish as a light dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks. His completely earnest words made a small smile threatened to cross Dedue's face, and he held his arms out to mimic Raphael's.

"I will try it."

Raphael beamed at him, quickly closing the distance between them as he wrapped his huge, muscular arms around Dedue. Dedue started to return the hug, hesitating a bit due to feeling a bit awkward, and he let out a startled noise when Raphael lifted Dedue off of his feet with surprising ease.

"Ha! C'mon Dedue! You can't let this hug be so one-sided!" Raphael said, grinning as his honey-colored eyes met Dedue's seafoam green. Dedue's hesitation immediately vanished and he finally wrapped his arms around Raphael in a gentle yet firm hug. Raphael responded by hugging him tighter, his delighted laughter filling the greenhouse and making Dedue's heartbeat quicken.

"Yeah! That's more like it! Both people have to participate or the hug doesn't really count!" Raphael said, laughing again as he finally set Dedue back on his feet. Raphael's laughter was incredibly infectious, because Dedue ended up laughing along with him. He could not remember the last time he felt at ease enough to laugh around someone else, and Dedue was surprised that it was Raphael of all people.

"Wow Dedue! I don't think I've ever seen you smile before, let alone laugh like that!" Raphael said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Dedue chuckled, and he found that he was unable to wipe the smile from his face.

"It seems that your bear hugs are indeed an effective deterrent of sadness. Are you sure that you are not casting a spell of some sort?" Dedue asked, raising an eyebrow. Raphael let out a booming laugh and slapped a friendly hand to Dedue's shoulder.

"Oh, no way! I'm horrible at magic! It's just some good old comfort and compassion for ya!" Raphael said, his eyes meeting Dedue's again. "I just can't sit by when others are feeling down without trying to help. So, if you're ever feeling sad again, you can always come find me for another hug anytime, Dedue. Or even if you just need someone to listen for a while, I can do that too!"

"I...may have to take you up on that offer, Raphael. Thank you." Dedue said. He never knew how good a person Raphael was. He was rather intimidating to look at, much like himself, but inside he was a caring and selfless individual. Dedue had never met anyone quite like him before.

"Anytime, buddy!" Raphael said. The moment of silence that followed was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound. Raphael blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops! All of this hugging really worked up an appetite. I'm starving!" Raphael said, laughing as he slapped a hand to his own stomach. "C'mon Dedue! Let's go get some meat!"

"Alright, I will join you. I am finished watering the plants here for today." Dedue said, his face heating up when Raphael let out an excited 'whoop' as he grabbed Dedue's hand.

"Great! Let's go!" Raphael said, smiling as he led the larger man out of the greenhouse. Dedue let out another rare chuckle and followed, his hand fitting surprisingly well in Raphael's. Dedue had always used the greenhouse as an escape from his troubles, but maybe what he really needed was a famous Raphael bear hug all this time. He would definitely be taking Raphael up on his offer in the future, and Dedue had a feeling that Raphael would be very okay with that.


End file.
